Secrets of the Universe

As Quinn broke through to the peak of the continent, his mind became clearer as he registered what had happened to him.

'The gift of enlightenment,' Quinn whispered.

He looked at the owner of the purple energy that pushed him to a breakthrough.

His mouth opened but he couldn't find the right words to say. Nothing could represent how he felt right now. No words could express his gratitude.

He stood up and bowed deeply at Jake, "I'm forever in your debts. I--"

He was instantly cut off by Jake's cold words, "Don't bother. It's not for free. We are only paying half!"

He had already calculated everything beforehand.

The gift of enlightenment was a skill that only [Realm-3] warriors and above possessed

It followed the theory of energy signature.

Hidden in a unit of energy was a massive amount of information that couldn't be tapped.

It just stayed there in its micro-world, living in a world that couldn't be perceived by even cultivators.

A world that is full of wonders and mysteries.

It recorded all the details of its host. In this case, it was Jake.

As a [Realm-3] warrior, he had the ability to grant enlightenment to a lower-level warrior using the information in his energy.

When a lower-level warrior was buried under his energy, Jake would will his energy to release 'itself', exposing how he got to [Realm-3].

It would sing to the warrior's head, whispering on how to achieve the higher realm.

This was exactly how it played out to Quinn.

However, it was not as simple as it sounded to Jake.

For Jake to grant enlightenment, he had to waste his energy, bringing him closer to the [state of deficit].

This was why it wasn't wrong for Jake to demand a price since he had gotten closer to death just for Quinn.

Looking at the cold look in Jake's eyes, Quinn sighed, 'It was a trap all along.'

"I understand," he half-smiled.

Quinn ignored his new power realm and continued his work.

He brought out a blank sheet of paper and a pen.

Instantly, he was back to his normal self, "Hohoho, now that we are done with the armor. We will proceed to the weapon section."

He managed to deceive himself that everything was okay, "Have you looked through the handout I gave you?"

Jake and Kaleyx nodded in response.

They weren't petty enough to intimidate the man further.

Grabbing the handout from Kaleyx, Jake pointed at some of the weapons displayed on it.

He spoke out his mind, "I use swords, both longsword, and shortsword. However, it has a limited attack range. It prohibits me in battle."

Jake had analyzed all his battles and realized that long-range combat was his weakness.

The duo's fight with Kieran was probably the one that firmed his mind.

Kieran had displayed all sorts of attacks that kept Jake at bay. It checkmated any surprise attack from Jake 

However, in the case of Jake bypassing his long-range attacks, Kiera's tough body was there to protect him.

Yet, he was proficient in hand-to-hand combat. An all-rounder!

This made Jake realize that if he could somehow get a hybrid range weapon, he would also be versatile in range combats.

Facing Jake's question, Quinn creased his brows, "I don't understand. Aren't you a swordsman? Aren't swordsmen supposed to be dedicated to their swords?"

As a weapon maker, he had met many swordsmen who had become fanatics of their weapons.

He had seen some of them offer their bones to upgrade their swords. In fact, some of them offered their one and only spine for the creation of their weapon.

In their mind, it wasn't anything stranger. After all, they were swordsmen!

Swordsmen…...warriors whose main path was the [Sword Path]. They were always loyal to the weapon called a sword. They boasted of having a sharp will capable of cutting anything they sight their eyes on.

"A swordsman, huh?" sighed Jake

He could be considered a swordsman and he could also not be considered a swordsman.

It all depended on the mentality…...his mentality. 

Jake had read all about the [Sword Path] in his [Sword Drawing Book]. He had been told all about the heroics of the so-called swordsmen.

To them, it was a title that represented their oath to their swords.

If they were ever to abandon their weapons, they would be deemed as a failure.

However, Jake did not believe in their obsessive mentality.

Sure, he liked the sword. Sure, it was what best fit him. But, he was a fluid person. He could change if the situation demanded so........and right now, the situation did!

"Well, I'm not a swordsman, just a man with a sword," hissed Jake.

He brought out his plain sword that had been with him since he left Aztec.

His beloved sword was now dull and blunt. Cracks appeared on the sword's edges. The metallic shine on it had long dimmed and the once terrific sword had lost to the trials of battles.

However, it still had its pride.

The moment it was revealed to the world. A sea of blood appeared encased Quinn.

He was yet again a victim…. A victim to the wails that were released from the blood sea.

He trembled as the illusion of corpses swimming in the blood sea appeared in his eyes.

"What a magnificent weapon?! It is rare to see a weapon that has absorbed the user's aura," beamed Quinn.

As a weapon maker,l his mind wasn't fragile.

He showed his mental state by grabbing the plain sword and dispelling its built-up aura.

He fixed his gaze on the blade, "What its name?"

"I didn't give it a name. It's just a plain sword," cooly said Jake.

Quinn swung the sword a few times and nodded his head at the blade's perfection,

He became more motivated on the project, "So, what type of weapon do you want? A hybrid type, you say…..."

Taking one more look at the sword, Quinn pointed out, "My advice is something that mixes well with a sword's function."

Jake glanced at the handout again.

This time, he found something that caught his eye, "What of a chained blade…..a chained sword?"

"Hmmm… a chained sword. A sword with a chain attached to it. I like that concept," smiled Quinn.

He scribbled a drawing on his blank paper and showed Jake.

It was a drawing of the said custom weapon.

Just like Quiin's description, the main part of the weapon was a blade that had the same dimensions as Jake's plain sword.

Connected to the sword was a pommel that served as a link to the snake-like metal chain that came after it.

The moderate metal chain was about ten to twelve feet long.

As soon as Jake saw it, he tried to materializing a copy of the weapon with the weapon so as to get a three-dimensional look at it.

Immediately, an energy construct of the weapon appeared in front of him.

Jake tilted it as he tried to see if it would fit him.

He quite liked the concept, but the problem was how would it fit him?

Quinn also recognized this issue.

The weapon maker made a few adjustments to the weapon and showed Jake.

Once again, the energy construct was updated.

However, it still hadn't solved the problem!

"Let's tackle the first problem, the sword's length," guided Quinn.

He focused on the construct, "It will all depend on you. Right now, it's fixed at the same dimensions of your plain sword, but it seems to not fit it."

The two of them conversed for a very long time. They seemed to forget Kaleyx who was left to watch them at work.

Finally, they decided on the appropriate design for the blade. 

The lengths if it neared that if a longsword but was a few feet away from being one.

The design resembled an estoc sword. However, its sword pointed was still a bit wide but not wide enough to detain its thrusting potential.

In Jake's words, it was the perfect mix between an estoc sword and a bastard sword.

After figuring out the sword's length and design, they moved to the hilt.

While they were deciding, Quinn informed him of a terrifying matter.

The weapon maker reported that if he used the right materials, he might be able to make his first [Sky Rank] weapon!

At first, Jake was confused. Wasn't it said that [Sky Rank] weapons weren't available on this continent?

To this confusion, Quinn boisterously laughed, "Oh about that, that only concerned buying [Sky Rank] weapons. Nothing was said about importing one from the central continent. Nonetheless, there are only a few [Sky Rank] weapons in the southern continent. Each of them is capable of bringing about a phenomenon."

He went on to explain, "You see, the problem with [Sky Rank] weapons is apart from the extravagant materials, they require a power core and a skilled weapon maker to permanent fix it on the weapon."